Sword Art Online: Project Kusanagi
by Kuroi yuki no ryu
Summary: 10 unique skills. Only the conditions for two are fulfilled. Let's see what happens when the conditions for the Unique Skill: Battoujutsu are fulfilled. OC fic. OC X Sinon (Not final) Rated M to be safe. Pairings (besides Kirito and asuna ) are still undecided.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to my first SAO fanfiction, this is kuro-yuki-ryu a new author and I hope this goes really well**

 **NOTE ; this author is still inexperienced , so do not expect an amazing fic from him , reviews that would point out the mistakes on this fic is gladly appreciated but flames will be doused with a fire hose. There will be mentions of other series so don't be surprised when you see something from another anime.**

 **Disclaimer : i do not own anything related to SAO except the plot of this story (Parts that isn't cannon anyway), the ocs , the weapons, and the identity of the weapons/oc**

 **##############################################################################**

S.A.O. also known as Sword Art Online, apparently it was the first game that uses a fully functional virtual reality (not the ones where you can see and hear but not move) via the nervegear which was made by Kayaba Akihiko and coincidentally, he is also the maker of SAO. It's a shame that apparently, no one decided to apply the full dive technology in other things.

For example learning to cook something via reading is just not enough. There are some things you can't just learn through reading only but if it used the VR tech then learning will be much more easy.

But back on the main topic, as the manual says, the game does not use magic. A pretty bold decision to do if you ask but there is an unlimited amount of skills waiting to be explored and that is what makes me exited and what's this! Whoa ten unique skills that will be given to players if the secret conditions are met. (Source is from the SAO wiki) Ohh and Players are allowed to make their own original skill. (AN: It's a function from ALO but I'm going to use it here)

Good thing I managed to grab myself a copy of the game and the equipment necessary to play it.

I have to thank my uncle for sending the nervegear and the game to me. How did he manage to get one, I will never know.

 **##############################################################################**

Those were the thoughts of one Raijin Kusanagi as he continued to read the guide, trying to learn as much as he can before the game officially starts.

He has crimson eyes and spiky black hair, with jaw length bangs framing either side of his face. His height is about 5'5" and has a slightly tanned complexion. Currently he is wearing a plain black shirt and faded jeans. It is Saturday and he doesn't have any classes at that.

Setting up the nervegear, he laid down his bed and grinned.

"Link Start!" then a multitude of colours assaulted his vision.

 **Touch OK**

 **Sight OK**

 **Hearing OK**

 **Taste OK**

 **Smell OK**

 **Language English**

 **Log in**

 **Username: Kusanagi**

 **Password: ****************

 **Character Creation**

 **Beta Test data available.**

 **Would you like to use it?**

 **Scarlet (F)**

 **[Yes] [No]**

Raijin's jaw dropped as he saw the beta test data named **[ Scarlet ]** now he understood how his uncle got a hold of the game and hardware, he was a f***ing beta tester!, however he realized that his uncle's character IS a female and wondered how he managed to modify the body. Pressing the no button and chose another save slot, he was ok with using female characters in a game but this one is different, it will surely feel like he's trapped in a woman's body and he didn't like that.

That and he didn't want to use his uncle's avatar which was probably made to be the prey of his perversion.

"This is certainly amazing" Raijin said as he observed his surroundings. He is standing in a pure white space but surrounding him are the choices for his character appearance. They are just there, floating around him. He smiled, he is not even in the actual game but the things he saw were something he can only hope to see in a sci-fi movie.

"Hm? What's this?" He mused as he checked out the default button. Looking at his character model, which was blank earlier, he saw that it looked exactly like him. _'So that's it'_ He thought.

Pressing the default button again, the character model became blank again

 **Gender :**

 **Hair :**

 **Hair Color :**

 **Eye :**

 **Eye Color (L) :**

 **Eye Color (R) :**

 **Face :**

 **Body Type :**

 **Skin Color :**

 **Height :**

"So you can set different colors for each eye" He mused to himself. Checking the table once more, he started to fill it out.

 **Gender : [M]**

 **Hair : [Default]**

 **Hair Color : [White]**

 **Eye : [Default]**

 **Eye Color (L) : [Blue]**

 **Eye Color (R) : [Blue]**

 **Face : [Default]**

 **Body Type : [Default]**

 **Skin Color : [Default]**

 **Height : [5'5"]**

"An inverted version of me, Perfect!" Raijin exclaimed as he observed the character model in front of him. It looks exactly like him but the colors are inverted. Checking the character once more, he nodded in approval.

 **Character Name**

 **Do you wish to change your Player name?**

 **Name : [(Default) Kusanagi]**

 **Y/N**

(AN: Starting at this point, I'm going to refer to him as Kusanagi )

"I think I'm sticking with that" He mused to himself. Pressing the ok button, a congratulatory message appeared then followed by a welcoming message.

 **Welcome to Sword Art Online!**

His vision once again was assaulted by different shades of blue aligned like a tunnel of sorts then a bright flash and next thing he knew, he was in the middle of a plaza of some sort.

' _Most likely the starting point'_ He thought to himself. Checking his surroundings he grinned. _'This game is awesome'_ Seeing a fountain he walked towards it and looked at his reflection _'It really is the character I made earlier'_ He thought, touching the face of his avatar.

"This game is awesome….Seriously awesome…Ridiculously awesome!" He exclaimed, making a lot of people look at him. Coughing to rid himself of the embarrassment, he checked his Items and as expected, everything is the basic beginner items with the exception of the weapon but in its place is a question mark, Raising an eyebrow he pressed the unknown item and a window appeared in front of him.

 **Choose your weapon**

 ***One Handed Sword**

 ***One Handed Curved Blade**

 ***One Handed Dagger**

 ***One Handed Axe**

 ***One Handed War Hammer**

 ***Wild Dance (Claws)**

 ***Two Handed Assault Spear**

 ***Bow**

"That's a lot of choices **,** wait a minute, Why is there a bow in a sword themed game?" Kusanagi asked, stupefied by the last option before he shrugged. _'Most likely to give players the chance to fight at long ranges'_ He thought to himself. Choosing the **One Handed Curved Blade** , the question mark changed into **Training Blade** which is basically, a wooden blade.

 **Training Blade**

 **Type : One Handed Curved Blade ( 0 / 1000 )**

 **Rarity : D**

 **Desc : A wooden blade used for training**

Kusanagi nodded in acceptance. Of course they would give the training ones first then allow the players to buy the real ones. Checking his money, whatever it was called in this game, He sighed

 **Col : 1000**

Of course it was just a little amount, walking to a shop he looked at the weapons displayed. Nothing impressive of course, this is just the starting point after all.

Checking the steel blade once, he checked its stats.

 **Steel Blade**

 **Type : One Handed Curved Blade ( 5 / 1000 )**

 **Rarity : D**

 **Desc : A simple steel blade. Try not to cut yourself with this.**

 **Price : 750**

Picking up the blade, he was once again impressed with the game. _'It feels as if I'm really holding an actual blade'_ Kusanagi thought to himself with awe.

"Would you like to buy that blade sir?" Kusanagi turned around at the source of the voice, seeing the NPC there, he nearly searched for a dialogue box but stopped himself in time. _'It's like buying things in the real world, just as the manual said it is'_ he mentally reminded himself.

"Yes" Was his reply and a confirmation message appeared.

 **Are you sure you like to buy these items?**

 **Steel Blade x 1**

 **Total: 750**

 **Y/N**

Pressing the yes button, the item was sent into his inventory. Opening his inventory, he tried to equip the **Steel Blade** but failed.

 **Insufficient Skill Level**

 **Please raise your One Handed Curved Blade Skill first**

 **One Handed Curved Blade**

 **( 0/1000 )**

"Ah, so I can't equip other blades unless I upgrade this one huh?" Kusanagi mused as he equipped the **Training Blade** Instead. Placing the wooden blade on the left side of his waist, he left the shop. _'There are a lot of girls here… I wonder which one is real?'_ He thought to himself. Normally, girls dislike RPG games like this but seeing a lot of female avatars made him wonder if all these avatars are actually girls or just pretending to be one.

"Maybe I should start fighting the monsters here?" Walking towards the middle of the **Town of Beginnings** , He opened the map. Seeing that the map only shows the whole **Town of Beginnings,** He observed his surroundings. Looking at the fully geared players, he decided to follow the majority those as they are bound to go out the fields and fight sooner or later, following two players in particular, a red haired one following a black haired one.

 **$========={==================================================**

His actions proved to be the right decision as right now he was at the **West Field** of the **Town of Beginnings** , and to be honest he felt like an idiot right now.

The reason?

He was killing those boars …. Using a wooden blade. The problem was he was trying and failing to use a sword skill.

"GAH! Why won't it activate!?" Kusanagi shouted in frustration. He levelled up a twice now and he can't still use a sword skill. Sighing, He sat down on a rock and checked his stats.

 **Kusanagi**

 **Lv.3**

 **STR - 14**

 **AGI - 26**

 **DEX - 14**

 **Unused points - 0**

 **$==={========**

 **Skills**

 **1.**

 **2.**

 **$==={========**

 **Sword Skills**

 **One Handed Curved Blade**

 **( 13/1000 )**

 **Reaver**

 **( 0/1000 )**

 **Fell Crescent**

 **( 0/1000 )**

' _So every kill I do with normal attacks increase my_ _ **One Handed Curved Blade**_ _mastery huh'_ Kusanagi thought as he checked his sword skills. _'I wonder what happens if I equip two weapons at once'_ When that idea entered his mind, he immediately equipped his **Steel Blade** which appeared on the right side of his hip. Drawing his **Training Blade** with his right hade and the **Steel Blade** with his left, a message box suddenly appeared.

 **Warning!**

 **Equipping two weapons will disable your sword skills.**

 **Please unequip one**

 **(Unless you unequipped one, your sword skills will remain disabled)**

 **[Y/N]**

"Well, I can't use my sword skills anyway" Shrugging, he pressed the no button and got to the settings menu before disabling all warning pop outs. Switching the two blades, he held the Training blade in a reverse grip on his left and started to search for more monsters.

"Well, time to test out my own moves" Kusanagi mused as he charged through an unsuspecting boar.

 **$========={==================================================**

"That's a risky way to fight" A black haired boy commented as he observed the white haired one who was fighting not too far from them. _'He's equipping two blades purposely and disabling his sword skills as a result'_ __He thought as he saw the **Training Blade** and **Steel Blade** in his hands.

"Huh? What do you mean, Kirito?" The red haired one said as he faced his companion/instructor for the time being. The black haired one pointed at a certain player and watched as the white haired one blocked the charging boar using the wooden blade in his left before he stabbed it on the head with his **Steel Blade** , dealing critical damage and effectively killing the boar.

"Equipping two blades at once disables your sword skills and since most of the high damaging attacks are sword skills, you're stuck with your normal damage" Kirito explained and Klein nodded in response.

"Maybe he has problems with the sword skills like me?" Klein mused as he watched Kusanagi kill another boar with the same method. Kirito nodded in response at that as he watched him behead another boar using the same method.

"Left for defence and right for offense huh" Kirito mused to himself as he watched the stranger block the boar's charge with his **Training Blade** before pushing upwards and by extension, the boar before swiftly slashing at its neck using the blade on his right, killing yet another boar. Sure, the stranger's fighting style IS risky but it does have its own merits.

"Let's talk to him!" Klein said as he marched forward. Kirito just sighed and followed him.

-With Kusanagi-

"So hitting the vital areas are considered critical hits huh, good to know" Kusanagi mused as he killed another boar by stabbing it in the head.

"Hey" Klein called. Kusanagi looked around him, searching for any people nearby. Seeing no one, he pointed at himself and Kirito nodded at the silent question.

"I'm Klein and the one behind me is Kirito" Klein said as he pointed at himself then behind him.

"I can introduce myself you know….." Kirito said which was ignored by Klein.

"Kusanagi….What can I do for you?" Kusanagi asked.

"Well… we were watching you fight earlier and we were wondering …. Why won't you use your sword skills?" Kirito asked hesitantly.

"Ah.. that…..well you see…..I can't use my sword skills …I don't know how to execute those so I tried dual wielding." Kusanagi answered, slightly embarrassed of the situation and Klein laughed in response to that.

"Well, we can teach you if you want" Klein offered and Kusanagi nodded in response. Kusanagi unequipped his **Training Blade** and opened his menu.

 **Kusanagi**

 **Lv.4**

 **STR - 16**

 **AGI - 28**

 **DEX - 16**

 **Unused points - 4**

Putting two points into **STR** and **AGI** , he closed his menu and asked the two in front of him.

"Should we start now?"

 **$========={==================================================**

"You know, I still can't believe it, no matter how many times I see it….." Klein said as he watched the sunset in the world of Sword Art Online. "That we are really in a game….. Whoever made this is a genius"

"Yeah… Think of all the possibilities this technology can do" Kusanagi said as he thought about his sister.

"What do you mean?" Klein asked, Kirito was also curious about this although he had a clue where he was going with this.

"You know how the Nerve Gear works right?" Kusanagi asked.

"By intercepting the electronic signals the brain sends throughout the body and uses it as the controls right?" Kirito answered and Kusanagi nodded in response.

"Imagine if you made a blind person use the Nerve Gear….." Kusanagi trailed off and Kirito widened his eyes.

What he was expecting was something like an online school or something via Nerve Gear but what Kusanagi has in mind is a lot more better than what he was expecting.

"The blind person can see while he or she's online!" Kirito exclaimed and Klein gasped in surprise.

"The Nerve Gear can do that?" Klein asked, as if Kirito's words were lies.

"Yes, it can do that. In fact, there are rumours about a modified version of Nerve Gear made for hospital patients." Kusanagi answered.

"Man, I am really glad to be born in this time" Klein said, awed by the news.

"Well, I'm with you on that"

"You two really make a big deal out of everything." Kirito said.

"It's my first full dive!" Klein shouted.

"Same here"

"Then, this is your first time playing a game with the Nerve Gear?" Kirito asked.

"Does the word 'newbie' and 'first VRMMORPG' ring any bells?" Kusanagi said, sarcasm evident in his voice.

"….."

"… Thought so" Kusanagi smirked

"How about you, Klein?" Kirito asked.

"I rushed out and the hardware to play SAO, I was lucky to get even one of the ten thousand copies" He said before pointing at Kirito "You're ten times more lucky, getting into the beta test, Only a thousand people managed to do that" Klein said with a hint of envy in his voice.

"I guess…."

"How far did you get in the beta?" Klein asked?

"Over a couple of months, only to floor 8" Kirito answered. "This time, it will only take a month" Kirito said confidently.

"You're really into this, aren't you?" Kusanagi's words were more of a statement than a question.

"To be honest, during the beta test .." Kirito began, drawing his **One Handed Sword** "SAO was the only thing I can think of day and night. In this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you want to go" he glanced at hiss reflection on the blade "It's a virtual world but I still feel more alive here than in the real world"

"Any ways, do you guys want to hunt some more?" Kirito asked

"I'm in" Kusanagi answered, standing up.

"Hell yeah!" Klein said but a growling sound was heard and everyone's eyes are on Klein's stomach. "But I'm starving …..so I'm logging out"

"Eating food here will only make you think you're full" Kirito said.

"Don't worry about me, I already ordered a hot pizza for 5:30!" Klein said with a thumbs up.

"You're so prepared" Kirito commented with a sweatdrop.

"Of course! After eating, I'm getting back here" Klein said as he stood up. "Hey guys, after this I'm going to meet some people I know from other games, want to friend them too?"

"Sorry but… I don't like adding people I do not know in by friend list" Kusanagi said and Kirito just looked away.

Klein, sensing the awkwardness, said "Of course you don't have to if you don't like to, it's ok , I'll just introduce you two to them on a later time."

"U-uh …. Yeah, sorry." Kirito said with a hint of awkwardness in his voice.

"Anyway, I'm going to repay you for this sometime . . . .Mentally" Klein said, placing a hand on Kirito's shoulder.

"I'll see you around, If there's anything else you want to know, just tell me. That goes for you too, Kusanagi. " Kirito said, shaking hands with Klein.

"Thanks, I'll hold you to that" Kusanagi replied.

"Yeah, I'll do that" Klein said, waving at them. Opening his menu, he searched for the logout button but … "Huh?"

"Something wrong?" Kusanagi asked.

"The log out button is not working" Klein answered, still pressing the log out button repeatedly.

"Are you sure?" Kirito asked, doubting his words.

"Let me try" Kusanagi said, trying to log out but only to get the same result. "Huh? Klein's right, it's not working"

Kirito also tried to log out only to get the same results as Klein's. "You're right…" Kirito said, thinking about the possible reasons it happened.

"Well, it's the first day out of beta, there are bound to be some bugs and I'm sure the server people are freaking out… " Klein said, dismissing the odd occurrence.

"You'll be freaking out too… and soon" Kirito said with a smirk.

"Huh"

"Its 5:25" Kusanagi said, realizing what Kirito was saying.

A horrified look came over Klein's face as he panicked. "My, teriyaki mayo pizza and ginger ale!"

"Just call the GM" Kirito said

"They won't answer" Kirito and Klein looked at Kusanagi and saw that he was trying to contact the GM. _'What happened. There must be a reason for the malfunction'_ Kusanagi thought to himself.

"Is there any other way to log out?" Klein asked.

Kirito frowned before explaining "No, if a player wants to log themselves out, they have to go through the menu"

"So in other words, there is no other way out?" Kusanagi asked and Kirito shook his head in response.

"That is both right and at the same time wrong" Kirito said. Seeing Kusanagi's questioning glance, he continued. "While that is the only way the players can log themselves out, the admins can just shut down the servers, forcibly logging out everyone but there isn't any announcement…." Kirito explained.

"Then I'll just rip the Nerve Gear off my head." Klein said, moving as if he was removing a helmet from his head.

"That won't work" Kusanagi said. Klein looked at him for an explanation. "The Nerve Gear intercepts the signals the brain sends to our bodies which means we can't move in the real world no matter how much we tried here" Kirito nodded at the explanation.

"Our only option is to wait for the admins to fix the bug or wait for our families to remove the Nerve Gear from us" Kirito said.

"But I live alone" Klein complained. "What about you?" He asked.

"I have a mom and a sister so I think they'll notice by dinner time…" Kirito answered.

"Well, I have a younger sister too and the landlady will probably visit us too…" Kusanagi answered.

Both teens were surprised when Klein suddenly took a hold of their shoulders with a creepy smile on his face.

"H-how old is your little sister?" Klein asked all the while shaking both Kirito and Kusanagi.

"She's on the sports team" Klein stepped once, Kirito and Kusanagi stepped backwards "And she hates games" Klein took another step and both of them stepped back again. "She has nothing to do with people like us" Kirito said.

Klein placed his other hand (The one on Kusanagi's shoulder) on Kirito's shoulder and said. "That doesn't mat-" but didn't finish as Kirito kicked his crotch.

Klein was writhing in pain for a few seconds before reminding himself on one fact. "Right, it doesn't hurt" He said.

"More importantly, don't you find this weird?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah. Most of the MMORPG games that I played are always alert for errors or bug reports" Kusanagi answered.

"This isn't a bug" Kirito said. Kusanagi looked at him with a face that said 'explain' and so he did. "If we can't log out, that will pose a serious problem for the game's future"

That moment, the familiar sound of a bell rang out the entire field which grabbed a lot of player's attention.

"Whoa!" Kusanagi said as he was enveloped by a blue light.

"What's happening?!" Klein shouted in surprise as he too was covered by the same blue light that took Kusanagi.

"Forced teleportation?" Kirito said before he too was forcibly teleported.

 **$========={==================================================**

 **Town of Beginnings, Central Plaza**

Kusanagi observed his surroundings when the light faded and noticed that he was back at the **Town of Beginnings** and that other players are being gathered here via forced teleportation.

"Kusanagi-san!" Kusanagi turned around to see Kirito and Klein behind him.

"Why do you think we were gathered here, Kirito-san" Kusanagi asked, knowing that Kirito has more knowledge about the game. Kirito just looked up and pointed at something

 **WARNING**

"That's …." Kirito whispered. The warning message was suddenly accompanied by a lot of system announcement messages that completely covered the sky and blood like fluid started to pour between the gaps. The crimson fluid gathered on one place before morphing into the form of a cloak of sorts, there was also smoke coming from the holes of the robe.

"What is that?"

"A Game Master?"

"He doesn't have a face.."

"Is this some kind of event?"

"I'm scared"

"It's just an event"

" **Attention, players"** The faceless person spoke in a booming voice which silenced the players, prompting them to listen.

" **Welcome to my world"**

"My world?..." Kusanagi whispered to himself _. 'I have a bad feeling about this.'_ He thought to himself.

" **My name is Kayaba Akihiko and as of this moment, I am the sole person who is capable of controlling this world"**

Kirito gasped for some reason but Kusanagi paid no heed to that as he frowned, the bad feeling won't subside and he can't ignore it even if he wanted to.

Most of the time, this would mean trouble is coming, and fast.

"Is that really him?"

"He probably spent a lot of time on this"

Players were chattering again once more the moment they heard those words.

" **I am sure you have already noticed that the log out button is missing from the main menu"** The now identified Kayaba Akihiko said as he opened his own menu, proving his earlier words. **"However, this is not a defect in the game. I repeat this is not a defect in the game, It is a feature of Sword Art online"**

"Shit" Kusanagi cursed. He can somewhat think of several possibilities of the main purpose of this event.

"A-a feature?" Klein said, stuttering as he did.

" **You cannot log out of SAO yourselves and no one on the outside can shut down or remove the Nerve Gear. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the Nerve Gear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and ending your lives as a result"**

Kusanagi grit his teeth in frustration and anger, knowing that all of the lives of the players are literally on the Game Master's hands.

"What?"

"He must be kidding"

"Oi stop that"

"Come on, enough already"

"This isn't funny anymore"

"What he's talking about? He's got to be nuts" Klein asked.

"He's right that the transmitter's signals work just like microwaves, if the safety is disabled, it can fry a brain." Kirito replied.

"Long story short, If he wanted to, it will just take a few buttons to kill us all" Kusanagi said and those around him that heard what he said started to get scared and will probably panic soon.

"What if we cut the power?" Klein asked.

"It won't work. The Nerve Gear has an internal battery" Kirito answered.

Klein just gritted his teeth in frustration. "This is crazy! What is going on!" He shouted at the both of them.

"How am I supposed to know that!" Kusanagi snapped at him and Klein realised his mistake and apologized.

" **Unfortunately, several player's family and friends have ignored this warning, and have attempted to remove the Nerve Gear and as a result, Two hundred and thirteen players are gone forever, from both aincrad and the real world."**

"Things are getting worse now…" Kusanagi muttered as he glanced at the panicking players around him. Sure he is afraid but panicking like the players around him would do him no good do he supressed his fear as much as he could and one could see his hands shaking.

"I don't believe it, I don't believe it!" Klein shouted, shaking his head.

" **As you can see, News organizations across the world are reporting all of this, the deaths included, thus you can assume that the danger of a Nerve Gear being removed is now minimal. I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game"**

Kirito gritted his teeth as he watched the multiple screens shoeing different news networks reporting this incident.

" **But I want you to remember this clearly. There is no longer any method to revive someone within the game, if your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be forever lost and at the same time, the Nerve Gear will destroy your brain"**

Kirito and Kusanagi and a lot of players froze as the situation finally caught up with their minds.

" **There is only one means of escape, Complete all one hundred floors of this game any all of you will be freed and finally, I've added a present from me to your item storage. Please see for yourselves"**

All the players opened their menu and got the item which was a mirror, much to the confusion of the players when all of the players were once again engulfed by the blue light and once it subsided, All players looked different, and there was other things he noticed.

Younger now looked older.

Older now looked younger.

Girls wearing boy's clothes, some of it were oversize. Cute if he was asked.

Boys wearing girl's clothes. No comment.

"Kirito, Kusanagi, are you ok" Kusanagi looks at Klein and noticed that his hair looked shorter now.

"Klein ?" Klein nodded.

"Your colors are inverted?" Kirito asked. Klein and Kusanagi looked at him and noticed thet the hair looked a lot more shorter and he looked a lot more …. Feminine? Girly? Kusanagi will not say out those words out loud.

"Who are you?" Klein asked.

"Kirito?" Kusanagi asked and Kirito nodded in response. "And before you ask again, yeah I inverted my hair and eye color, nothing else" Kusanagi said, chuckling a little .

"So this is the mirror's purpose huh" Klein said as he observed the other players around him."I wonder how.." he mused.

"It's probably that scan" Kirito said, getting their attention. "The Nerve Gear covers our entire head with a high density signalling device so it can see what your face looks like" He explained

"But our height and body shape…." Klein asked.

"We have to calibrate it at first right? The one where we hat to touch _every inch_ of our body" Kusanagi asked and Kirito nodded in response.

"But… why do they have to do this anyway?" Klein asked. _'It seems he's still in shock of the situation'_ Kusanagi thought to himself as he observed Klein, not like he was any better but the shaking on his hands have diminished.

Kirito pointed at the Game Master "I'm sure he'll tell us" he said.

" **Right now, you were probably wondering, "why, why would kayaba akihiko, the developer of the Nerve Gear and Sword Art online do all of this?" … My goal has already been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for one reason . . . . . .To create this world and intervene in it and now it is complete."**

" **This concludes the tutorial for the official launch of the Swor-"**

"I have a single request!" Kusanagi raised his hand as he shouted, making his two companions look at him in shock. He got the feeling that the game master is amused at the development right now.

" **What is it?"**

"Can you at least enable the **Original Sword Skill** function earlier?" Kusanagi asked and all of the players looked at him as if he is an idiot.

"Kusanagi-san, what are you doing!?" Klein asked in shock, which Kusanagi ignored. The Game Master stared at him and checked his player name.

" **Kusanagi, was it?"** Kayaba asked and Kusanagi nodded in response. **"Give me a reason enable that function earlier"** He said and Kusanagi sighed in relief.

"You are literally holding our lives in your hands and now that the revival function is now disabled, can you please give us more of a fighting chance in clearing this game?" Kusanagi asked, Kayaba chuckled a bit before he spoke again.

" **Why the Original Sword Skill function?"**

"I know for the fact that you won't release any of the **Unique Skills** so I aimed for the second best choice" Kusanagi explained and Kayaba nodded in response. He was silent for a few moments before he spoke again.

" **Kusanagi…I will remember that name. Clear the first ten floors and I will activate that function. Any Questions"** Seeing as the crowd are still dumbstruck at the turn of events, he spoke once more. **"This concludes the tutorial for the official launch of the Sword Art Online. Good luck, players"** was all he said before Kayaba's avatar somewhat turned into mist before fading.

"Thank you for complying, Kayaba-san" Kusanagi whispered and he swore he heard him chucking but he was gone right?

"You really have balls of steel you know, asking him up front just like that" Klein said, chuckling.

Kirito suddenly dragged the two of them into an alleyway. Kusanagi wondered why but as soon as he thought that, he heard screams coming from the main plaza. _'It seems like they started panicking now'_ He thought to himself.

"You two, listen to me" Kirito suddenly said, seeing as he got their attention now, he continued "I'm going to head to the next village now. Do you want to go with me?" He asked.

"What brought this on?" Kusanagi asked. Kirito just opened his menu and started to press at it, whatever he was doing he had no idea.

"If what he said is true, then the only way to survive in this world is making yourself as strong as possible. The resources in a virtual MMORPG such as the EXP and gold id limited and I am sure that the fields surrounding this area will soon be hunted clean. We need to get to the next village now if we wanted to head to the next village now." Kirito said as he sent them the map data for the entire first floor. "I know all the paths and dangerous areas. I can safely go there even if I'm level one" Kirito explained and Klein looked conflicted at this.

"But…. But you know…. I spent a whole night in line to buy this with my friends from other games I played." Klein explained and Kirito knows where this will go. "They are out there in the plaza and I can't leave them there like that you know" Klein said. Kusanagi placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded.

"I know what you meant to say, go now and find your friends, they will need your presence there. Don't worry about us." Kusanagi said and Klein smiled in response.

"You're a good man, Kusanagi." Klein said before he shook his head. "I used to run a guild in my last game so I'm sure I'll be fine and I can use what you thought me to get by!" He said.

"Alright, good bye, Klein. If something happens, don't hesitate to message me" Kirito said as Klein nodded and waved back as he waked towards the plaza.

"Oh and by the way Kirito" Klein said as he looked back at them for a moment. "You are actually pretty cute. That's my type" He said.

"I didn't know you swing that way" Kusanagi suddenly said as he smirked, making Klein stumble in his steps.

"Oi I don't swing that way! I'm a MAN!" Klein shouted indignantly. Kusanagi and Kirito just chuckled at that.

"Whatever makes you sleep at night, Just make sure you survive so we can meet again" Kusanagi said with a smile.

"And by the way, that unkempt face of yours suits you ten times better" Kirito said with a smile before Klein waved back and ran towards the plaza to search for his friends.

"How about you, Kusanagi?" Kirito asked and Kusanagi thought for a moment before answering.

"I'm going to prepare myself first, mentally and stock on supplies, then I'll follow you there. Thanks for the map data by the way" Kusanagi replied.

"No problem. Message me if something happened, I'll try to help us much as I can" Kirito said as a Message box appeared in front of him.

 **Kusanagi has invited you to his friend list.**

 **Will you accept?**

 **[ Accept ] [ Decline ]**

At Kirito's questioning glance, Kusanagi spoke. "How are you supposed to find me if I'm not in your friend list?" Kirito nodded at his logic and pressed the accept button.

"Good bye, Kusanagi" Kirito said as he turned around to leave.

"Kirito" Kusanagi said. Kirito turned to look at him to see him smirking. " I prefer 'See you later' Rather than 'Good bye' you know." Kusanagi said before he waved back. "See ya later, Kirito" Kirito just smiled at that before he spoke "Likewise, Kusanagi" then he ran away.

Kusanagi just chucked before he left the alleyway.

 **$========={==================================================**

 **Town of Beginnings, Market Area**

Kusanagi hummed as he walked around the market, checking several items as he did. Approaching an NPC, he picked up a health potion and spoke. "Can I have twenty of these?"

"Of course" The NPC replied. This time, a female one and she entered the house behind her.

"Excuse me" Someone spoke beside him. Looking at the person, which is a girl. She has thin hair, which is dark, tied in small ribbons by the side of her face with the back cut short. Her height is about 5'4" and her skin is pale and her eyes are somewhat a combination of grey and black. In her hands is a bow and a training one at that (Which he based material and design) but she doesn't seem to have arrows. Her gear seems to be the starter set which was given at the beginning of the game.

"Yes?" Kusanagi asked. He was about to check her Player Name but stopped when he realized that it might be considered rude.

"You are Kusanagi-san, Right?" She asked.

"Yes, and you are..?" Kusanagi trailed off.

"Sinon" The now identified Sinon answered.

"So Sinon-san, what can I do for you?" Kusanagi asked as the NPC returned and a confirmation message appeared in front of him.

"Can you please add me to your party?" She asked and Kusanagi looked at her in surprise.

"May I ask why?" At her questioning look, he elaborated. "There are a lot of other players at the plaza, why search for me?" He asked.

"You seem calm throughout the entire situation and you even have the courage to ask the GM for something even when most of the players are panicking or scared." Sinon explained. Observing her once more, he noticed that her shoulders are tensed and her hands are tightly gripping at the bow. _'still scared, I guess'_ Kusanagi thought to himself. He can't blame her though, not many people can quickly calm themselves in that kind of situation. Deciding that a traveling partner won't be that bad, he opened his menu.

 **Invite**

 **Kusanagi invites you to join his party.**

 **[ Accept ] [ Decline ]**

"I guess a partner won't hurt" Kusanagi shrugged as Sinon stared at the message before pressing the accept button.

 **Kusanagi [LV.4]**

 **Sinon [LV.3]**

"Thank you" She said and Kusanagi nodded in response.

"Have you bought any supplies?" He asked.

"Supplies?"

"You know, potions, extra weapons, arrows in your case…" Kusanagi explained. Seeing her shook her head no in response, he sighed and walked over to another store.

"Buy some arrows and potions first, I'll be right over there." Kusanagi said as he pointed at a male NPC holding a hammer, a blacksmith. Sinon nodded and he left.

 **$========={==================================================**

"You done?" Kusanagi asked Sinon. He just finished his business with the blacksmith which was just repairing his **Steel Blade** and checked his inventory for anything he might need.

"Yes, I'm done here" Sinon said and he nodded in response. Kusanagi started walking and Sinon followed, however, she noticed that he's taking a different route and asked. "Where are we going?" Sinon asked.

"A friend said we should leave this area as soon as possible" Kusanagi said lowly so that other players won't hear them. At her questioning glance, he explained. "Look around us" She did as she was told and saw that the players are approaching different NPCs, taking quests most likely. "Players are going to run this place dry in a matter of days and an acquaintance of mine told me that we should leave for the next village as soon as possible." He answered and she nodded in response.

"Your acquaintance is a beta tester isn't he?" Sinon asked and Kusanagi blinked in surprise.

"You're pretty sharp aren't you?" Kusanagi chuckled and Sinon turned away to hide the mild blush on her face. "Yes he is a beta tester. He taught me the proper way of using sword skills" He answered. Well, probably I'll use those when I get myself a longer blade, something like a katana perhaps?" Kusanagi mused to himself.

"Not using skills are risky you know, especially now that this….." Sinon stopped talking at that point.

"Don't worry about me, I know what I'm doing" Kusanagi reassured her, patting her on the head which she swatted like a fly. "It's just that the sword skills are too … basic for me at this point. Seriously! A simple thrust is a skill here! What a waste." Kusanagi ranted off. They have just left the **town of beginnings** and Kusanagi opened his map to follow the path to the next village. Kusanagi looked at the road in front of them and sighed, Drawing out his blades, he mentally prepared himself for the risk he was about to take.

"Hey, are you prepared?" Kusanagi asked. Sinon looked at her bow for a moment and took an arrow from her quiver before she nodded at him. Looking back at the road, he noticed that there are three **[Wild Wolf]** on their path.

"Cover me?" He asked and Sinon nodded in response. Charging towards wolves, there was only one thing in his mind.

' _This world, this game, I'm going to survive this no matter what.'_

 **$========={==================================================**

 **AN: For those who thought that I'm abandoning my other story, The Corrupted Phoenix, Then I'm glad to tell you that you are wrong. I just have a poor time management skills. I can't divide my time properly between school, work, myself and writing.**

 **I really wish I can update like Fairy Tail Dragon Slayer. Seriously, his update speed is crazy, I didn't see any other author update as fast as that author.**

 **Well I can start training in that then.**

 **See ya later!**


	2. Chapter 2

**NOTE ; this author is still inexperienced , so do not expect an amazing fic from him , reviews that would point out the mistakes on this fic is gladly appreciated but flames will be doused with a fire hose. There will be mentions of other series so don't be surprised when you see something from another anime.**

 **Disclaimer : i do not own anything related to SAO except the plot of this story (Parts that isn't cannon anyway), the ocs , the weapons, and the identity of the weapons/oc**

 **Location: 1** **st** **Floor, Horunka Village**

"This place is small compared to the **Town of Beginnings** " Kusanagi mused as he checked the village named Horunka. There are only ten buildings here and he can see three buildings that he liked to visit now. The inn, the weapon shop and the tool shop.

"Your acquaintance is already here, right?" Sinon asked as she walked forward to take a better look at the village.

"Yes, but he is probably doing a quest right now." Kusanagi nodded as he answered her question. "Hey, Sinon" He said, getting her attention. "Wanna go on a quest?" He asked.

"At this time?" She asked. It was already 6:30 and its starting to get dark. She shook her head in response to his question. "I'll take one tomorrow, I just want to rest right now" She answered.

' _It's just that a lot has happened today'_ She thought to herself.

"I see…" _'A lot has happened today, no wonder she's tired'_ Kusanagi thought to himself. "See you tomorrow then." He smiled before he left her at the village entrance.

"Good luck, Kusanagi-san" Sinon whispered before she headed for the inn. She was slightly glad that he didn't dissolve the party after they got here but that might be because he just forgot to do so. _'Impossible, my health bar is always visible to him as long as we are in the same party. There's no way he would forget that'_ She thought to herself as she entered the inn. Booking herself a room with a single bed, she turned in for the night, even though it is early and decided on forgoing dinner. The events today just took a lot on her.

' _I wonder how Kusanagi-san does it.'_ She thought as she lay down on the bed. _'To remain calm throughout the entire situation and not panic… He is strong'_ She pulled the blankets over her body and just stared at the ceiling. She idly noted that the bed and the blanket feels like a real one. There was one final thought that passed her mind as sleep overtook her mind.

' _I need that kind of strength'_

* * *

"This makes three" Kusanagi mused as he left the last house in the village. He decided to take as much quests as he could and finish it in one go to avoid wasting time. Opening his menu, he checked his **[Quest List]**

 **[Nepent Extermination]**

 **Kill 20 nepents**

 **Nepents slain ( 0/20 )**

He got that quest though an old man inside one of the NPC houses. Apparently, nepent population is rising for some unknown reason and it was getting too dangerous for the citizens of this village to go out, the old man would like to kill them by himself but his age has prevented him from doing so, so he volunteered and got this quest.

 **[A Medic's Request]**

 **Find the following items:**

 **5 Red Nepent herb ( 0/5 )**

 **5 Green Nepent herb ( 0/5 )**

 **5 Yellow Nepent herb ( 0/5 )**

This one he got from an old lady, which was apparently a medic if the quest's name was anything to go by, who asked him if he came to her house for any treatment of sorts and asked him for herbs when he told her he didn't. He accepted the quest since the old lady said that the herbs she requested can be gained from killing **[Little Nepents].**

 **[Secret Medicine of the Forest]**

 **Get the following item/s:**

 **Little Nepent's Ovule ( 0/1 )**

This one he got from an NPC mother asking requested him to get a flower of sorts from the **[Little Nepents]** by once again killing it. Apparently, the flower was a cure of sorts for her daughter's illness ant the reward, as the NPC said was her family's heirloom.

"Time to go, I guess" Kusanagi said as he walked to leave but as he passed the weapon shop, he wondered if there is a better blade than his **Steel Blade** that he can use with the current level of his weapon's skill level. _'I do have to replace my_ ** _Training Blade_** _anyways'_ Kusanagi thought as he entered the shop. Observing the blades, one in particular caught his attention.

 **Serrated Steel Blade**

 **Type : One Handed Curved Blade ( 20 / 1000 )**

 **Damage: Normal**

 **Rarity : D+**

 **Desc : A serrated variant of the steel blade.**

 **Price : 850**

"I'll have one of this" Kusanagi said and looked at the shopkeeper NPC only to see him holding another blade, a copy of the blade he ordered. Chuckling slightly, he paid for the item and equipped it immediately, the blade appearing on the side of his left hip. Nodding in approval, he proceeded to leave and finish the quests he took as soon as possible.

"Ah! I didn't use my points earlier" Kusanagi remembered just as he left the village. On the way here, he levelled up a few times but didn't bother setting up his stats. Opening his menu, he checked his stats.

 **Kusanagi**

 **Lv.7**

 **STR - 24**

 **AGI - 36**

 **DEX - 22**

 **Unused points – 12**

 **$==={========**

 **Skills**

 **Weaponsmith ( 29/1000 )**

 **$==={========**

 **Sword Skills**

 **One Handed Curved Blade**

 **( 52/1000 )**

 **Reaver**

 **( 0/1000 )**

 **Fell Crescent**

 **( 0/1000 )**

"I guess I'll put those points in **AGI**. Can't hit what you can't see, right?" Kusanagi asked himself. His **Weaponsmith** skill was only there because he didn't want to spend money on repairing and upgrading his weapons. It does help that Weaponsmith has increased success rate when it comes to upgrading wepons, the only thing is, he can't make anything not related to weapons.

I still have a few more skill slots…. Can't decide what to put in there though" Kusanagi mused as he checked his only skill not related to his **Sword Skills** and saw that there are only a few things that are only a few things that are going to be enhanced as he upgraded this skill.

 **Bladed Weapons Forging**

 **Blunt Weapons Forging**

 **Ranged Weapons Crafting**

 **Upgrading Efficiency**

 **Durability Bonus**

Apparently, every fifty mastery points, one of the five options can be upgraded which he was giddy inside as he didn't sell any of the materials he has just for this skill and has been doing the maintenance for his weapons during their trip here in order to raise his skill mastery.

"I'm getting off track, might as well finish this early" Kusanagi mused as he shook his head, ridding himself of the questions regarding his skills, those are better left for later when he is inside a **Safe Zone**.

* * *

 **Lo** **cation: 1** **st** **Floor, Horunka Forest**

"What happened here?" Kusanagi thought as he observed the items in front of him, the starter set and an **Iron Sword** all on the ground, as if someone left them there.

Or dropped after killed.

Kusanagi widened his eyes as he realized what this means. Someone was here before me and was killed by the monsters here. _'Kirito'_ He shook himself of that particular idea and opened his menu. Despite meeting him just recently, he did consider him as a friend and as a good friend; he will help him if he ever needed it. Checking his friend list, he saw Kirito's name in it and his current location, which was the forest he was in and sighed in relief. The items in front of him, especially the sword was the same as him and feared for the worst, the only question right now is, where are the **[Little Nepents]**?

Suddenly, the sound of something shattering entered his ears and raced forward towards the source, putting his **AGI** to good use only to step back at what he saw.

A Lot of **[Little Nepents]** gathering around a single place, about 30 or more, all focused on a single area and from the middle, blue shards are floating upwards before fading.

' _Someone's got to be in the middle'_ Kusanagi thought, drawing his **Steel Blade** in his left and the **Serrated Steel Blade** in his right before charging forward and starting his deadly dance of blades and death.

-With Kirito-

' _This is bad'_ He thought as he killed another of those ugly plants. _'My_ ** _HP_** _is dropping fast and I'm nearly out of healing potions'_ He cut another one in half with a well placed **Horizontal** _'And I'm burning through my_ ** _MP_** _faster than I would like'_ He thought as he killed yet another one of those ugly plants.

Earlier, as soon as he reached **Horunka Village** , he searched for the NPC that gives the quest for the **[Anneal Blade]** and somewhere along the way, a player named Coper joined him. Things are going fine but when a **[Little Nepent]** with a flower on its head appeared, that's where trouble started.

Coper purposefully struck the fruit at the **[Little Nepent's]** head and started running away using his **[Hiding]** skill, but sadly, that particular skill doesn't work on monsters that don't use sight to detect their target and the result was the pile of equipment a little somewhere around here.

"Huh?" Kirito said as he heard several shattering sounds and looked around him to check only to see a green cursor among the sea of red ones around him. _'Who was it?'_ he thought as several more crashing sounds followed before someone he recognized jumped towards his location using the monsters as a stepping stone.

Kusanagi.

"Need a hand?" Kusanagi asked as he cut an offending vine, disarming the monster attacking him.

 **Invite**

 **Kusanagi invites you to join his party.**

 **[ Accept ] [ Decline ]**

Pressing the accept button, Kirito smiled a little as he asked. "Nice timing to ask. Still using that dangerous style of yours?" Kusanagi chuckled a little at that as he spun around thrice, his blades cutting through monsters with ease and killing them fast. Kirito checked the party only to raise an eyebrow at the unfamiliar name.

 **Kirito [LV. 10]**

 **[HP: 35%][MP: 35%]**

 **Kusanagi [LV. 7]**

 **[HP: 90%][MP: 100%]**

 **Sinon [LV.6]**

 **[HP: 100%][MP: 100%]**

"Got a party member?" Kirito asked as he and Kusanagi were back to back. There were about 20 or less **[Little Nepents]** remaining and among those are a flowered variant of **[Little Nepents]**. He already has the necessary item to complete the quest but getting another one won't hurt. He was about to charge towards it when a black blur stopped him in his tracks followed by the screams of the monster and finally a shattering sound.

Kusanagi beat him to it.

"Finally! I thought finding this will take longer" Kusanagi exclaimed. _'It does take longer, you just got lucky because of the constant killing here'_ Kirito thought to himself as he watched Kusanagi kill two **[Little Nepents]** by spinning again.

"You got faster?" Kirito asked as a **[Little Nepent]** tried to attack him only to get hit with a horizontal and a cross slash from Kusanagi, Killing it immediately.

"Yup. I spent most of my attribute points towards **AGI** " Kusanagi answered as he weaved through the monster's attacks before cutting their vines, leaving them defenceless. "My health and defence sucks though, but it's nothing I can't handle. If I don't get hit, then I won't take damage" Kusanagi smirked as he spun once, leaving a two horizontal marks at the monster before moving out, letting Kirito kill the said monster.

"By the way, who is this Sinon?" Kirito asked. Now, he's the one doing the vine cutting and Kusanagi does the last hit.

"Ah, She's an archer. She asked me to party up with her when I was stocking up **(S)HP Potions**. I Left her at the town because she said she's tired and wanted to rest" Kusanagi answered, taking a potion. By now, the **[Little Nepents]** are about below 15, how much, he didn't count, just that they are below 15. _'I'm still getting hit by some attacks; maybe investing some points in_ ** _DEX_** _will benefit me greatly.'_ Kusanagi thought to himself.

"You can't blame her though" Kirito said, killing the last monster. "A lot has happened today. It takes a lot of mental fortitude to keep yourself focused in that kind of situation" After he said that , he took a potion just to be safe.

"Yeah. Heading back now?" Kusanagi asked and Kirito nodded in response. Both have levelled up a bit for now.

"Yeah, I had enough fighting for today" Kirito said and both walked towards the village.

' _In one moment, a life and death situation, the next, a casual chatter, what the hell?'_ Kirito idly thought as they left the forest.

* * *

 **Location: 1** **st** **Floor, Horunka Village**

"Your turn, Kusanagi" Kirito said as he left the NPC's house, sheathed at his back was the reward, the **Anneal Blade.** Kusanagi didn't know that though.

"Thanks" Kusanagi said as he entered the house. "See ya later, Kirito" He said as Kirito nodded and left for the inn. Earlier, while Kirito was inside the house, he took the rewards for the other quests and he even received the **[Extra Skill: Alchemy]**. Apparently, the skill allows him to make potions like the basic two and potions for different status ailments. It's quite a useful skill to have.

Approaching the NPC, he took the **Little Nepent's Ovule** and presented it to the NPC.

"Here's the flower you requested" Kusanagi said.

Relief and joy was what he saw from her face as she took the item from his hands and put it inside the pot, which he didn't notice earlier. "Thank you, young man. With this, my daughter will be cured. Take this" She said as she opened a chest at the south of the room. Getting a curved blade from it, he handed it to him.

The blade was bluish, contrary to the usual chrome and was slightly longer than the one he is currently using. Taking the blade from her, he was greeted with the stats of the said blade.

 **Anneal Blade ( +0/8 )**

 **Type: One Handed Curved Blade (Variant) ( 100/1000 )**

 **Damage: High**

 **Rarity: C+**

 **Desc: A powerful and sturdy blade that was passed through generations of a family of swordsmen whose task was to defend Horunka Village from invading monsters.**

' _Must be an event of some sort and probably exclusive to the wielders of this blade'_ Kusanagi thought as he read the description of the blade. This was the longest and most descriptive one he read so far and it's possible that it was connected to an event or something and apparently, this was another variant of the **Anneal Blade** and he idly wondered what type of weapon the original one was.

"Thank you, can I see her?" Kusanagi said and the woman smiled and nodded before she took the pot with the ovule in it and walked upstairs. Kusanagi followed her and watched as the young girl took the soup and got better almost instantly and the mother hugged her daughter and said something to her. What she said to her, he didn't hear but when the girl looked at him with a smile, He was reminded of his sister in the real world.

The girl looked at him and said the words that made his heart weak "Thank you, Onii-chan" He just smiled and nodded before he left. His vision became somewhat blurred.

' _Thank you, onii-chan'_ Those words reminded him greatly of his sister. He was sure his sister was probably beside him, silently asking him to wake up. After their parents died a long time ago, he took the role of a father, mother and a brother to her, and while his uncle took them in, he didn't want to bother him too much and took part time jobs without his knowledge the moment he turned 16. Sure, he's quite skilled in graphical design but he knew that no matter how skilled he was, no one will take a minor on a company so he honed his skills in that department whenever he got the time. He was just lucky that there was a program that allows a student to work in their school in consideration to the orphaned students like him.

Shaking his head to get a hold of his emotions, Kusanagi briskly walked out of the house. He was thankful that there are only a few people there and quickly walked towards the inn. Entering his room and locking it, He let his emotions out and silently cried to himself.

* * *

 **Location: Real world, Hospital for SAO Victims, Kusanagi's Room.**

"Uncle, is there any other way to wake up onii-chan?" A young girl about the age of 12 asked as she held her brother's hand in her own. She was sitting on a wheelchair as she looked at the sleeping face of her brother. She wanted to rip off that helmet on his head but refrained from doing as she knew what the consequences would be.

The girl has straight black hair that reaches her waist and also has crimson eyes like her brother.

She has a fair complexion and wears a white sundress.

"Sorry, but the only way for them to leave that game safely is to finish that game" Her uncle said with remorse evident in his tone. "I shouldn't have given him that game if I have known this would happen" He whispered.

"Onii-chan's going to buy it anyway if you didn't" She replied. She knew her brother was saving some cash for the game but didn't say anything about it. She knew how hard his brother worked for her and he deserved to have some relaxation time. His chosen relaxation time turned out to be a death game though.

"Hey, uncle" she said, gaining her uncle's attention "are the rumours true about the medical version of the Nerve Gear?" She asked. Since the incident started, she researched anything she could about the hardware and deduced that if any PWD used the said hardware, the game won't register the problem which means a blind person can see in the game and in her case, she can walk inside the game.

"Yes, Why do you ask?" their uncle asked curiously.

"I want to help onii-chan" She replied, shocking her uncle into silence.

' _You're not going to be alone in this one, Raijin onii-chan'_

* * *

 **Location: 1** **st** **Floor, Horunka Village**

When Sinon woke up this morning, she was startled by the congratulatory message showing up on her face.

"What happened?" She thought out loud and noticed the changes in the party.

 **Sinon [LV.8]**

 **[HP: 100%][MP: 100%]**

 **Kusanagi [LV. 10]**

 **[HP: 100%][MP: 100%]**

 **Kirito [LV. 11]**

 **[HP: 100%][MP: 100%]**

"Who's Kirito?" She asked no one in particular before shrugging and fixing herself for the day.

After she finished, she walked down the lobby and saw Kusanagi talking with a black haired boy on one of the tables. Walking towards them, she sat beside Kusanagi and spoke.

"Who's this?" She asked. Kusanagi just looked at her then at Kirito before introducing them both.

"Kirito, this is Sinon. Sinon, this is Kirito" Short and efficient, Kusanagi would have said more but didn't know what to say in this situation.

Silence….

"Back to what I was saying.." Kusanagi began to get rid of the awkward silence. "Kirito, are you going to leave now?" Kusanagi asked, knowing that the Kirito wanted to level up as soon as possible.

"Yes" Kirito answered as she took a sip of his tea. "I wanted to level up as fast as I can and to do that, I need to go to places where the monster levels are higher." He explained and Kusanagi nodded in response.

"Can we join you?" Sinon asked, prompting the two boys to look at her. "We do need to level up too, and fast. We need to get as high as we could if we are going to face the first floor boss" She explained.

"It makes sense, I guess.." Kusanagi began as he took a sip of his tea. "There are people coming here now and we already took quests last night…." Kusanagi glanced at her. "Are you fine with that? You didn't take any quest from this place" He asked.

"I'm fine, I gained **EXP** from the party anyways." She waved off his concern and Kusanagi chuckled in response.

"I was going to dissolve the party today but with the way things are, we are going to be stuck for a while" Kusanagi said, amused.

"Dissolve? Why?" Sinon asked. _'I still need to learn more about his strength'_ She thought as she observed Kusanagi discreetly.

She still doesn't get how he can be calm in this situation, most people are probably still moping at the **Town of Beginnings** and some of the brave ones probably took quests on that place but the exceptional ones like the two in front of her pushed forward and took the risk despite the knowledge that dying here meant dying in the real world.

She needed to learn how to get that kind of strength, the courage to face your own fear.

"I was planning to tell you later but I'm going to dissolve this party to let you go on your own way because I'm planning to forge a new blade for myself and it might take some time…" Kusanagi explained to her. "But I suppose I can do that later and I can get some new materials on the way" She nodded at his explanation.

"You're not getting rid of me any time soon; archers don't go as forwards you know?" Sinon said as she smirked at him and Kusanagi chuckled in response.

"So Kirito, it seems like you don't have any choices now." Kusanagi said, getting his attention. "If you leave the party now, we'll just follow you, you know"

"It's just as you said" Kirito said as he sighed. "I didn't have any choices in the first place so might as well come with you" he said as he stood up.

"Gather some supplies first" Kusanagi said and Kirito looked at him as if asking why. "You're nearly killed yesterday so fix your dammed sword first and buy some potions next!" Kirito just chuckled in response to his words as he left the inn.

* * *

 **Location: 1** **st** **Floor, Horunka Village**

Kusanagi chuckled as he left the weapon shop, apparently, there was a forge there that allows the players with the Blacksmith or Weaponsmith skill to make weapons there and he took advantage of it by using all of his materials until nothing was left.

Earlier, the three of them agreed to meet at one of the village gates in an hour so to make use of his idle time, he decided to test what items he can make or upgrade with the materials he had and used all of it just to make his **[Weaponsmith]** skill to level up.

 **Anneal Blade ( +4/8 )**

 **Type: One Handed Curved Blade ( 100/1000 )**

 **Damage: High**

 **Rarity: C+**

 **Desc: A powerful and sturdy blade that was passed through generations of a family of swordsmen whose task was to defend Horunka Village from invading monsters.**

 **Black Thorn Bow ( +0/8 )**

 **Made by: Kusanagi**

 **Type: Bow ( 75/1000 )**

 **Damage: High**

 **Rarity: C**

 **Desc: A black bow wrapped in thorns that was harvested from Horunka Forest. The vines act as a security for anyone trying to steal this bow. This bow was said to poison anyone that was not its owner.**

 **Black Thorn Blade ( +0/8 )**

 **Made by: Kusanagi**

 **Type: One Handed Curved Blade ( 75/1000 )**

 **Damage: High**

 **Rarity: C**

 **Desc: A poisonous blade that was made for assassination. High ranking officials hand this blade to an assassin when they want someone to be 'silenced'. Be wary of the wielders of this blade.**

He was sure that his skill levelled up significantly from this experiment and he planned to give Sinon the bow since hers was the starter one. The other two though, he was going to use those seeing as his weapons are weak in comparison.

Walking towards the gate, he noticed that Kirito is there, who nodded at him, and Sinon, who was leaning against the gate. Opening up his trade window, he placed the **Black Thorn Bow** on the list.

Sinon raised an eyebrow when a trade window appeared in front of her showing the new bow and before she can even react, Kusanagi pressed the ok button, ending the transaction.

"What was that?" She asked curiously since most people would just sell it rather than give it away.

"Your bow is severely low for your level so I gave you a better one." Kusanagi explained and she nodded in response. Opening up her menu, he saw the said bow and equipped it.

Just like the name suggests, the bow was covered in some sort of a vine with tiny black thorns. The thorns are not sharp and the vines didn't reach the handle so she has no problem using it but when Kirito tried to touch the bow, seeing as Sinon wasn't pricked with the thorns, the thorns suddenly grew a few centimetres and by the looks of it, the thorns are now sharper than ever.

"Thanks" She said as she nodded in appreciation for the bow. The bow was actually light so her strength parameters could handle the bow.

"You're a blacksmith?" Kirito asked curiously and Kusanagi shook his head in response.

"Weaponsmith, not Blacksmith" He answered. Kirito noticed the two new blades at his waist, the **Anneal Blade** variant at the left and the **Black Thorn Blade** at the right. _'Probably from his Weaponsmith skill'_ he thought to himself since that item cannot be found in any NPC shops.

"You ready?" Kirito asked, drawing his **Anneal Blade (Sword)** prompting Sinon to prepare an arrow and Kusanagi to draw his blades, the **Anneal Blade (Blade)** on the right and the **Black Thorn Blade** on his left in a reverse grip.

Kusanagi smirked, which was followed by Sinon and asked. "What do you think?" before they both took on a sprint. Kirito just shook his head in amusement and followed after them.

* * *

 **AN: This one was finished earlier than expected, and much more easier to manage than my other story but that was probably because I have a lot of research materials here and experience in RPGs.**

 **By the way, apparently, there are three villages in the first floor (source: SAO Wiki) and some only has one so I researched into it and the result was, as the floor gets higher, the area gets smaller, meaning the first floor is the largest area and the 100th floor is the smallest one in SAO.**

 **I'm trying to stick on my initial plan to go through all floors one by one and I would like to hear your thoughts on this.**

 **That's all, thanks for taking your reading this fic and I hope that this was satisfactory to the readers.**

 **See ya later!**


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